129: Chapter 129 Breakthrough

It was late at night.

The dormitory area of the Tianjiao Camp had returned to tranquility.

After a full day of purging and inspections, although a few small fry hidden in the Logistics Department had been uncovered, no major hidden dangers were found.

The students, whose nerves had been stretched tight all day, finally relaxed and drifted off to sleep.

Only the lights in Villa No. 1 were still on.

Lin Fan sat cross-legged on a cushion in the training room.

In front of him lay a pile of items radiating astonishing spiritual power fluctuations.

This was the entire haul from this operation.

The black card containing fifty thousand military merit points was tossed aside carelessly.

At this moment, he was more focused on the tangible resources.

First were the dozen or so storage rings scavenged from the corpses of the Beast God Cult members.

Although most of the good stuff had been snatched up by that pack of wolf-like students, as the "blind box recycler," Lin Fan had still secured the lion's share.

Those broken corpses had already been converted into blind box materials and stored in the system space.

As for the contents of these rings, they were an unexpected bonus.

"Tsk, tsk."

"As expected of a cult."

"They really are rich."

Lin Fan casually picked up a black crystal.

This had been scavenged from the leader, that Half-step Grandmaster.

[Item: Dark Energy Essence (A-Rank)]

[Description: A crystal containing high-purity dark attribute spiritual power, which can be used to strengthen dark-type talents or absorbed directly to increase cultivation.]

"Good stuff."

Lin Fan didn't hesitate.

He immediately activated the ability of [Myriad Things Furnace].

He had no intention of making blind boxes to sell to others.

This time, he was going to use it himself; the current situation was becoming increasingly complex.

Although Wang Gang had escaped, the Sakura Country spy hidden in the shadows was definitely still around.

Coupled with this "Special Consultant" title given by the military, the dangers he would face in the future would only increase.

His cultivation at Martial Master Rank 8, while invincible among his peers and even capable of going head-to-head with a Grandmaster, was not enough—far from enough.

He needed greater strength.

Only with absolute strength could he survive in this world of the law of the jungle.

Only then could he protect his younger sister.

Only then could he trample all those scumbags eyeing the Dragon Kingdom underfoot.

"System."

"Activate directional smelting mode."

"Goal: Increase cultivation."

Lin Fan issued the command in his mind.

[Ding!]

[Host command received.]

[Filtering available materials...]

[Detected A-Rank Dark Energy Essence *3, B-Rank High-Energy Nutrient Solution *10, Military Special Supply Body Tempering Pill *5...]

[Confirm smelting?]

"Confirm."

"Smelt all."

Lin Fan did not hesitate.

As he gave the command, the pile of resources in front of him instantly turned into streaks of light, being sucked into the phantom of the massive furnace in the system space.

Rumble.

The sound of the furnace operating echoed in Lin Fan's mind.

A moment later, a golden pill appeared out of thin air in his palm.

The pill was only the size of a longan, but it was wreathed in nine miniature dragon-shaped patterns, radiating a terrifyingly majestic medicinal power.

[Item: Nine-Turn Dragon Origin Pill (S-Rank, Customized Version)]

[Effect: A perfect pill created by the system through the hundredfold critical return mechanism, purifying and fusing the essence of all materials. After consumption, it can significantly increase cultivation without side effects and has a chance to strengthen physical talents.]

"This is the correct way to use the system."

Lin Fan looked at the pill in his hand and smiled with satisfaction.

Currently, the system mostly returned materials and high-level pills, but there was a lack of things he could use directly on himself.

Now that he had the system, it was different; this was the domineering advantage of having a cheat.

When others absorbed these resources, not only was the utilization rate low, but they also had to worry about impurity accumulation.

As for him, he went straight to the goal.

Lin Fan opened his mouth and swallowed the Nine-Turn Dragon Origin Pill.

Boom!

The pill melted the moment it entered his mouth, instantly turning into a violent torrent of heat that rushed down his throat and into his limbs and bones.

Pain.

A tearing, excruciating pain.

This medicinal power was simply too vast, like a real giant dragon rampaging through his meridians.

If it were an ordinary Martial Master, they would likely explode and die instantly.

But Lin Fan was no ordinary person.

"Indestructible Golden Body!" Lin Fan shouted in a low voice, and brilliant golden light instantly shone from his body.

His S-Rank Talent was operating at full power.

His body, tempered through thousands of trials, was like an indestructible container, firmly locking in that violent energy.

No matter how it surged, it couldn't shake him in the slightest.

"Refine for me!" Lin Fan gritted his teeth, guiding that energy into the spiritual sea at his dantian.

The originally calm spiritual sea instantly boiled.

The golden spiritual liquid spun crazily, forming a massive vortex.

With every rotation, the volume of the spiritual liquid expanded by a fraction.

Martial Master Rank 8 Mid-stage...

Martial Master Rank 8 Late-stage...

Martial Master Rank 8 Peak...

The bottleneck was like a thin sheet of paper.

Under such terrifying energy impact, it shattered instantly.

Boom!

A muffled sound came from within Lin Fan's body.

A tyrannical aura erupted from him, shattering all the tables and chairs in the training room into powder.

But this was not over.

Only half of the Nine-Turn Dragon Origin Pill's medicinal power had been consumed.

The remaining energy continued to push his cultivation upward.

Martial Master Rank 9!

The spiritual sea expanded again.

The originally liquid spiritual power began to become viscous, showing faint signs of solidifying.

This was a sign of being about to step into the Grandmaster Realm.

As long as the spiritual sea was completely solidified into spiritual crystals, one could become a Grandmaster.

However, Lin Fan was not in a rush to charge into the Grandmaster Realm.

He knew that the more solid the foundation, the higher the future achievements.

He forcibly suppressed the urge to break through, controlling the remaining medicinal power to continuously scour his meridians and bones.

Once.

Twice.

Ten times.

Until that medicinal power was completely squeezed dry.

Until every inch of muscle was filled with explosive power.

Whew.

Lin Fan slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

That breath condensed in the air without dispersing, actually emitting a low dragon roar.

He opened his eyes.

Two golden rays of light flashed and vanished in the darkness.

Martial Master Rank 9 Peak.

He was only a step away from the Grandmaster Realm.

Although he was still in the Martial Master category, the total amount of spiritual power in his body was already more than three times that of an ordinary early-stage Grandmaster.

Coupled with his Indestructible Golden Body and various trump cards, even if he faced an opponent of Wang Gang's level again, he was confident he could crush them head-on without needing to resort to tricks.

"Is this the feeling of power?"

Lin Fan clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within him.

He was just a little bit away from advancing to Grandmaster.

He stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open; the night breeze brushed against his face.

He looked toward the pitch-black night sky in the distance.

There, it seemed as if a pair of eyes were watching him.

"Human traitor, huh?"

"Sakura Country, huh?"

Lin Fan muttered to himself, his eyes becoming incomparably cold.

"You'd better hide deep."